Beginnings
by The Moon Fairy
Summary: Imagine if Tobias met Tris before Tobias choose Dauntless, when they were both in Abnegation. See how they first met and how their story develops from there. (Formatting has been fixed!)
1. Chapter 1

After school, Beatrice was at her locker figuring out what books to bring home. Her brother, Caleb had gone already. He said he was going to be late for his community service. Sometimes, she thought that everyone was more humble and selfless than she was. Why was it easy for everyone else in our faction? It came so naturally to Caleb, why not her? Beatrice didn't usually dwell on this thought. Thinking about one's self could also be taken as vain.

She was stuck in a crowd of students trying to leave. She didn't really have anywhere else to be at the moment, so why go home just to start chores any sooner than she needed to? There she was again, thinking about herself. She waited for the crowd to pass and was now walking by herself when she heard screaming down one of the alleys around school. She wondered if she should call for help. But something inside her told her to check it out herself. For a moment, she thought she was crazy, what was she doing? As she got closer, she could make out the voices.

"You're supposed to protect him from people like you, Eric. That's what your faction does."

"Don't tell me what my faction does. I think I know that better than you, Stiff."

At that moment, someone grabbed Beatrice from behind, "Hey look what I found." Beatrice tried to scream and struggle out of his hold but he had his hand on her mouth and she couldn't make a sound. Why did she get herself involved in this? That was so stupid. He brought her over to where the others were.

"Let her go! What are you doing? Let them both go!" The abnegation boy said.

Beatrice saw now that this didn't look good at all. Two dauntless against three abnegation were not good odds, especially when the other abnegation boy near Eric was smaller than she was.

"Just because your dad is head of the Council, doesn't mean I have to do what you say, Tobias." Eric said glancing around the alley. He saw me in his friend's arms and watched the little boy as he tried to get away from him. Tobias just starred him down. They were at an impasse. "Fine, I will let them go, but now I want you instead!" Eric threw the kid to the ground and jumped at Tobias and started punching him. Tobias tried to hit him back and got a couple hits in. Beatrice tried to squirm out of the other dauntless's arm but she couldn't.

Someone had heard all of this commotion and was running down the alley heading toward the noise. It was a dauntless patrol. The boy holding Beatrice let go immediately and ran away in the opposite direction. Beatrice ran over to the little boy in the corner.

"Are you all right?" she said.

The boy nodded and buried his face in her chest. He was about 12 years old. He probably had just come out of school and just wanted to walk home like everybody else.

"What is going on here?" the patrol yelled. He stepped right in between Tobias and Eric, breaking up their fight.

Tobias got his bearings and then said, "Eric was bullying that kid and I wanted to stop it."

"Is that true, Eric?"

"No! Tobias thinks he's tough and tried to pick a fight with me." Eric turned around and just starred at Beatrice and the little boy threatening them both not to talk.

Beatrice started feeling brave. She looked over at Tobias. "That's not what happened, Tobias is telling the truth."

"Are you going to believe a couple of Stiffs over another dauntless?" Eric interjected.

The patrol did not look pleased, "Shut up, Eric. You two are coming with me." He pointed to Tobias and Eric. "And I think you should go home." He motioned to Beatrice and the little boy. Beatrice paused and looked at Tobias and he nodded, silently telling her to go. She put her hand on the kid's shoulder and walked him out of there. She looked back as she left the alley. They were all walking the opposite direction. She hoped Tobias would be ok.

"What's your name?" Beatrice asked the kid when they had been walking for a while.

"It's Jimmy."

"I'm Beatrice. What happened? Why was that guy picking on you?" Beatrice knew that she should walk Jimmy home but she desperately wanted to go and see what would happen to Tobias and Eric. She kept looking back, but she knew they were already gone.

"I was just walking out of school when Eric was walking next to me. He had tattoos on his neck so I looked at them, but I must have been looking too long because then he took my arm and brought me over here to ask me what I was looking at. That's when Tobias came. I think he followed us. And then he stopped him. I don't know what I would have done if he hadn't come." Jimmy finished his story and then said. "I'm never talking or looking at another dauntless ever again."

"You know Jimmy, not all dauntless are bad."

Jimmy thanked Beatrice and then ran the rest of the way home. Beatrice's house was not far now but she felt like she didn't want to be there. She wanted to know what happened to Tobias and to make sure he was ok. But she didn't know where they went or how to even begin to look for them.

As soon as she got home, her dad was already in her face about what happened.

"How did you know? This just happened, like a few minutes ago."

He said that he had got a call from Marcus Eaton. Beatrice's father, Andrew was on the Council with Marcus. He was his second in command. "What is it going to look like that the kids of the two top officials in the city are fighting with the dauntless?"

"Wait a minute. That boy needed help. Tobias was doing the right thing." Beatrice countered.

"Beatrice, you shouldn't have gotten involved." He said.

Beatrice disagreed with her whole being. Someone was screaming; she had to go see what was wrong. She couldn't have just walked away from that. She started to say something but her father cut her off.

"I don't want to hear it. Go to your room. Next time, don't get involved. Don't you understand the pressure we're under? They are looking for anything to discredit us."

She couldn't believe what her father was saying. She didn't even know what to say back to him, so she just left, walked up to her room and shut the door. If this is what her father was like, she couldn't even imagine what Marcus Eaton would be like to Tobias when he finds out. But, Tobias had to do something. He protected that kid. Beatrice thought that her role in the whole thing was probably unnecessary. She didn't really do anything, but without Tobias, Jimmy could have been hurt. She could have been hurt too. Tobias stood up to Eric, and Beatrice really admired that. That was definitely the right thing to do, no matter what her father said.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day at school, Beatrice tried looking for Tobias. She was amazed that she had never met him before, especially if their fathers worked together. Tobias even knew who she was! He must have told his father that she had been there yesterday. That's how Marcus knew to call her father about it. But Beatrice didn't really know anything about Tobias. She could tell that he was a couple years older than she was. But she couldn't find him anywhere though. She started to worry halfway through the day that he was in jail somewhere or had gotten into a lot of trouble.

She stayed after school that day to speak to one of her teachers. He wanted to inform her of a new community service opportunity. Beatrice smiled politely and took the flyer. She knew that she still needed to complete her quota for the year, and time was running out, but she wasn't jumping up and down to do it. She made a mental note of actually following through with it this time. She left the classroom with the flyer in her hand and almost ran into Tobias.

"Tobias! What happened to you? Are you ok?" Beatrice eyes settled on Tobias's black eye. Tobias put his forefinger on his lips to get her to stop talking and motioned to come with him to an empty classroom. Beatrice guessed that he didn't want anyone overhearing their conversation.

"What's going on?" Beatrice asked when they were sure they were alone.

"I'm sorry I told my father that you were there yesterday. Did you get in trouble?"

"No, well… I mean yes, but it's ok." Beatrice said fumbling over her words. "Don't apologize. I'm not going to keep apologizing that I was there and you shouldn't have to either. My father was mad because he said something about our actions discrediting them at their job. I don't understand why they would think that way. I mean what we did…well, what you did was right. They should see that."

"Well, they don't."

Beatrice looked at Tobias, and for the first time thought that maybe Eric didn't give him that black eye, maybe Marcus Eaton did. She wasn't going to push that conversation on him now. This was their first conversation ever and she didn't want to say the wrong thing and spoil it.

"What you did was really brave." Beatrice didn't want to sound stupid but she wanted Tobias to know that what he did mattered.

"Yeah, well… maybe I'm in the wrong faction then." Tobias said, his tone getting rough.

Beatrice thought that she had said something wrong. "No, I didn't mean that."

"I know what you meant and thank you. I'm sorry I snapped at you."

They were quiet for a moment and then Tobias asked, "Why did you come down the alley? It wasn't a very smart thing to do."

"Gee thanks," Beatrice replied sarcastically.

"No, I'm serious. You could have been hurt." He said taking a serious tone.

"I know. It was stupid, I guess. But I heard someone screaming and I wanted to help. I honestly didn't know that there were two bulked up dauntless down that alley. But I didn't want to do nothing."

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Tobias said.

Beatrice just looked at him, surprised. Where did that come from? Tobias smiled. She started liking that smile. Tobias smiling was a rare event and she would enjoy it. "It's from something I read in an old library book."

"I like it. It's true." Beatrice smiled in spite of herself.

"Yes it is, Tris." Tobias replied softly with a smile in his eyes.

"My name's Beatrice." She said correcting him.

"Yeah, I know. I think Tris suits you better."

There he was smiling again. Someone picked that moment to barge into the room. The erudite girl looked at us. "Sorry, the science club is meeting in here in a few minutes."

And with that we left the room. Tobias had to go get the work he missed from school today so they parted ways. Beatrice wished that she asked him why he wasn't in school today, why he had the black eye, what happened yesterday after he left with the dauntless patrol. Maybe they would have time to talk again soon. She hoped that it would be very soon.


	3. Chapter 3

That night, Beatrice couldn't stop thinking about Tobias. She wondered if he was thinking about her at all. She couldn't get over the new nickname he had given her. She actually rather liked it. Tris. She hoped see would see Tobias at school tomorrow.

Her father had cooled off about the whole thing. When he talked with her today, he was actually concerned that she could have been hurt instead of being angry about her "part" in it all. She had conceded that she wouldn't be running into any dark alleys anytime soon and if she saw or heard something like that again, she would go get help. That made her father happy and she was glad he wasn't still mad at her.

While she was with her family at dinner, Beatrice announced that she would be doing her community service requirement at the fractionless soup kitchen near the school. Her mom was happy because she had spent a lot of her time there recently. She said she would introduce Beatrice to all the abnegation she knew that worked there and help her get set up. Beatrice mentioned one of her teachers had told her they had an opening for someone her age. No one mentioned what happened the previous day at dinner and Beatrice was glad of it.

Beatrice saw Tobias at school a few times, but she could never get close enough to talk to him without being extremely obvious. He was older than her and in none of her classes. Near the end of the week, she thought maybe she would never get to talk to him again. Maybe he didn't even want to see her anymore.

The weekend came and it was Beatrice's first day volunteering at the soup kitchen. She wasn't completely thrilled with this arrangement but she was glad that she would get her requirement over with for the year. She couldn't help but think that if she stayed in abnegation after her choosing, this definitely would not be her favorite part. Her mom came with her and introduced her to everyone. Beatrice's jaw practically dropped when she met the last person she was introduced to at the complex.

"And this is Tobias, Marcus Eaton's son. Your going to help him unpack the amity trucks on Saturdays."

Tobias chuckled at her surprise, "We already met." Beatrice smiled back at him.

"Great, well, I'll leave you to it then."

Beatrice waited until they were alone to say something. "Well, looks like we get to spend more time together." She jumped up on the truck and starting handing bags over to Tobias.

"Don't sound so excited," Tobias said sarcastically with a smile in his eyes.

"No, it's just that volunteering isn't my favorite thing."

Tobias laughed. "How very un-abnegation of you."

"Well, don't tell anyone. I don't want people knowing about that," a little worried that maybe she said too much.

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. I just do this to get out of the house. But I'm happy to see you here. It will be nice to have a friend."

Beatrice smiled at that. Maybe this community service thing wouldn't be so bad. They worked for a while in silence and then Beatrice got up the courage to ask what she's been wanting to know since that day in the alley, "I wanted to ask about what happened after you left with the dauntless that night." She jumped off the truck and stood face to face with Tobias.

Tobias stiffened at her words and Beatrice knew he probably wanted to talk about just about anything other than this. "The patrol took us right to my father. He sent Eric away and basically, blamed me for all of it." He paused and looked at Beatrice. His eyes softened. "I don't understand why he doesn't get things when it comes to me, why he always thinks the worst of me. He didn't even really listen to what I had to say about it. He basically just wanted to know who was there so no one else would find out about it. He called your father right away." Tobias mood had drastically changed. Beatrice realized that bringing this up right now was probably not a good idea and started to regret it.

"Tobias, you did nothing wrong."

"I know that, but that's how it is with him." He touched his eye, the swelling had gone down considerably and for a moment, Beatrice thought he was going to tell her about how Marcus treated him. But he just said "It won't happen for long now. As soon as I can choose, I'm getting the hell out of Abnegation."

Beatrice was taken aback by this. She felt like someone had just slapped her. He was going to leave. She had started to think that maybe they could get closer. She didn't want to lose him now that she was starting to get to know him. But then again he didn't owe her anything and she knew that. It's not like they were dating or anything. But somehow she was hurt that he wanted to leave the faction; that he wanted to leave her behind. He must have sensed her reaction. He came closer to her and put his hand on her cheek. "I didn't plan to meet you, Tris. This is definitely going to make it harder to leave."

Beatrice didn't know what to say. His touch had sent electricity throughout her whole body. She didn't want him to take his hand away so she put her hand on his. "It's not like your leaving tomorrow." She couldn't believe this was actually happening. He actually felt something for her too.

"No, I'm not leaving tomorrow."

He took a step closer and leaned into her. She looked into his eyes; they were the darkest blue that she had even seen. He was so close to her now, she could feel his breath. He closed the distance between them and their lips touched. Beatrice swore she could hear her own heartbeat. She felt his soft lips on hers and she felt herself light up. She wanted this moment to last forever. But just like that, it was over. He pulled away and Beatrice opened her eyes. He was smiling at her. All of his worry and anger had melted away and she could see Tobias, as he should be, a carefree teenager without a care in the world. She smiled back at him.


	4. Chapter 4

Volunteering at the soup kitchen turned out to be Beatrice's favorite thing to do after that first day there. She learned from Tobias that amity trucks came twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. She decided to do a little extra volunteering once she learned that Tobias goes both days too. So it became their routine, after school on Wednesdays they would walk over together and Saturdays they would meet there. They would also take their sweet time walking home after they were done. They didn't know if their fathers would approve of their "friendship," so they decided to keep it between them. Beatrice didn't want Tobias to get in any more trouble with his father. Tobias had never really said anything more about his relationship with his father and she didn't want to push it. She'd rather talk about Tobias than his father anyway.

They talked about everything. They talked about the factions and which one they would pick if they didn't pick abnegation. They both decided candor was not for them especially since they both didn't open up so easily, even to each other. Amity people were too happy, for lack of a better word. They must put something in their food. Even though the Erudite were smart, it seemed like a boring place to be, lots of tests, studying and work. That left dauntless. It always came down to dauntless. Beatrice knew that they were just talking about "what if." But she couldn't help remembering how serious Tobias had been that day when he said he wanted to leave abnegation. Beatrice hoped the closer they got, the more he would see that this is the place he wanted to be, with her. If he did leave the day of his choosing, she would still have to be here another two years before she can join him. A lot can happen in two years, and she didn't want anything to change. She always ended up just deciding that she just wouldn't think about it right now. Although every now and then Beatrice would think of the countdown to Tobias's choosing ceremony. And today the countdown measured two months.

Even though she was the happiest she has ever been, Beatrice couldn't help but thinking it could all end for her and Tobias very soon, and she definitely didn't want that. It was a Wednesday so Beatrice and Tobias were walking to the soup kitchen together after school. Tobias could sense that something was wrong.

"Are you going to tell me what's bothering you or am I going to have to guess?" Tobias tried to make light of the situation. He usually tried to smile which usually made Beatrice smile, but not today.

"Nothing."

Tobias stopped walking and took her hand, "Tris…"

Beatrice tore her hand away and snapped. "What are we doing here,Tobias? It's no secret that you want to leave as soon as you can. You made that clear from the start. Am I just supposed to keep talking and laughing with you like nothing's wrong when I know in two months you'll leave me here, alone? I can't pretend anymore that its not upsetting me." She looked at Tobias and wanted him to say that he'll stay with her, that he's not leaving. She wanted him to _choose_ her.

Tobias just starred at her. He wanted to tell her that we would stay for her but he just couldn't. "You don't understand."

"You're right. I don't." Beatrice bolted. She turned around and ran as fast as she could. She couldn't stand Tobias not opening up to her. She was getting more upset by the minute and she started to cry. She couldn't see through her tears. She ran and ran. She finally stopped crying and stopped running. She looked around and she didn't know where she was. She was in a part of the city that she didn't recognize.

"Oh, what do we have here? Are you lost, Stiff?"

It was Eric. She looked up at him. This was not good. She was alone, but he wasn't. His friend was there too. Two against one. If only she hadn't left Tobias. She should have paid attention to where she was going. What was she thinking?

"Rob, what do you think we should do with her?" Eric taunted.

Beatrice decided she needed to get out of there now. She backed away until she could see both of them. She then tried to make a run for it.

"Not so fast, Stiff. We're not done with you yet."

Eric had caught her by the arm. She tried to break free, struggling. Eric grabbed her other arm and held her in front of him. Beatrice felt trapped; she didn't know what to do. She finally did the only thing she could think of, she swung her head forward and bit his neck. She had hoped the bite would surprise him enough so he would let her go.

Her plan backfired. Instead of surprising him, Beatrice only got him angry. He pushed her away and hit her across the face. She fell onto the ground.

"You stupid girl. You shouldn't have done that. And you shouldn't have told that patrol that Tobias was telling the truth. Next time, you should remember to keep your mouth shut." Eric crouched down to stand over Beatrice. "Speaking of Tobias, where is he now?"

"I'm right here." Tobias appeared behind Beatrice and kicked Eric down. "Get away from her Eric." Tobias helped Beatrice up and stood in between her and Eric. Rob seemed to be staying out of it.

"Bout time you got here, Tobias. What took you so long?" Eric got into Tobias's face.

Tobias pushed him away. "What are you doing Eric? Leave."

Eric swung at Tobias, he ducked and tripped Eric with his foot. Eric fell to the ground.

"Let's go, Tris." Tobias grabbed Beatrice's hand and they walked away.

"That's right, Tobias, run away! Its what you do best!" Eric screamed after them.


	5. Chapter 5

While they were on their way back, Beatrice's face started to swell where Eric had hit her. She touched her check and winced. This was not good. She definitely did not want anyone knowing what happened back there. And now it was literally written on her face.

"Are you ok, Tris?" Tobias carefully offered.

"No, I'm not. Can't you see that?" She motioned to her check. She was still upset with him from before. She didn't want him to leave the faction and that's what was going to happen in a couple months if Tobias got what he wanted.

They walked for a while in silence. Tobias didn't know what to say. He was getting angry with Tris for not seeing his point of view. But how could she? He didn't give a chance to know what was going on for him. She had every right to be upset with him.

"Stop, Tris." Tobias said. Beatrice kept walking. "I said, stop." Tobias took her arm and held it until she stopped.

"I need to tell you this. I know I've hinted at it, but it's not fair to you not to be up front about it." Tobias paused.

Beatrice waited with bated breath. He was opening up to her. He really did care about her and trusted her. She couldn't believe she had been so childish to run away from him. She shouldn't have done that. Look what it got her, a bruised face that she would have to explain.

Tobias started again, "I know you know my father isn't the best. It gets complicated because he's the head of the council, but he's not a good father. He wasn't a good husband to my mother, and I think she died because of him. He's also almost killed me a few times. Let's just say, I've been lucky. But my luck will run out if I don't leave. There's nowhere for me to go but out of here. I need to get away from him. I can't tell anyone, and no one can help me. My only chance is to choose another faction. And that means making the choice to leave you. And that part is killing me. But you need to understand, my hands are tied." He stopped and looked at Tris. He hoped to God that she understood.

Beatrice just stared at him. How stupid could she have been? It was so much worse than she thought! Marcus Eaton could be murderer! She couldn't let him go on hurting Tobias for her own selfish reasons.

"I didn't know how bad it was, I feel so awful. I'm so sorry." Beatrice closed the space between them and she hugged him as tight as she could. "I'm so sorry."

Tobias just relished in her comfort. He hated that he didn't have a normal family, a decent father. He had finally found his reason to stay in Abnegation and it just wasn't going to work out. He hated his father. He was standing between Tobias and happiness yet again.

"Why can't you tell anyone? He shouldn't be head of council! That's not right," Beatrice broke out of their embrace.

"No one would believe me, Tris. He is above everyone. He controls so many things. He has too much power and he knows it. This is the only way to let the system work for me. It's my choice and he can't do anything about it once it happens. He has to let me go."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Beatrice said regretfully. If only she had known, she would have acted differently; she wouldn't have made it so hard for him.

"I don't know. I wanted us to just be us for as long as we could. I didn't want to burden you."

Beatrice could see the pained look in his eyes as they settled on her cheek. It was getting worse, there was definitely going to be a mark. He moved his hand to try to touch the bruise and Beatrice moved her head away. Tobias wasn't deterred, he put his other hand on her other cheek and quickly brought her closer to him in a passionate, hungry kiss.


	6. Chapter 6

When they finally got back to the soup kitchen, Beatrice felt better about things. She wasn't exactly sure why. She thought it probably had to do with that incredible kiss. She was still a little lightheaded from that. Well, either from that or the bruise on her face.

She thought about their situation. In two months, Tobias would pick another faction to get away from his abusive father, and inadvertently her as well. She had gotten upset and just ran away from Tobias, only to run into Eric, who hit her and now she'll have to explain to everyone why her face is bruised. But amazingly none of that mattered now, at this moment she was holding Tobias's hand and that was enough for her. However messed up her life, she had Tobias for today, and right now, that was all she needed.

All the good feelings went away as soon as they got back to where the amity truck usually is, and Marcus Eaton was waiting for them. Immediately, Tobias let go of Beatrice's hand.

"What are you doing here?" Tobias's tone was grave. Beatrice could tell he was suddenly afraid.

Marcus ignored Tobias and looked Beatrice up and down, "You're Beatrice, am I right? Andrew's daughter."

Beatrice looked over at Tobias, and then something happened. She knew she could stay scared and shy, or she can choose to be brave. Tobias had just told her who Marcus really was. Any other day she might have cowered back, and said whatever Marcus wanted or expected. But not today, she felt herself change. She was finally worthy of her new name, "No, actually, its Tris."

Tobias just starred at her. What was she doing?

"Oh, really? Interesting." Marcus didn't seem fazed. His attention turned back to Tobias. "Why weren't you here right after school? They told me you're usually here by now. What happened?"

Tobias froze. But Tris didn't.

"It's my fault. We were both coming here after school today so we walked together. It's so stupid but I tripped on a rock and fell. Tobias helped me and we went back to school so I could clean up. But I think I'm going to have a bruise." Tris was very convincing but even she thought the excuse was lame. She just hoped he bought it.

"That was nice of him, but I'm afraid I'm going to take him home with me now." He looked over and glared at Tobias, "We need to sort out some _business_."

This time Tris froze, but not for long, "Oh no! Mr. Eaton, can't he stay? I'm going to have to unload that whole truck by myself if he leaves. My shoulder still hurts from that fall." She hoped she sounded pathetic enough. She did not want Tobias leaving with Marcus right now. And this is all she could do to stop it.

Marcus looked taken aback. It was apparent that he wasn't used to being questioned, especially by a small abnegation girl. Tris grabbed her shoulder for effect, pretending that it hurt. She couldn't believe that she was actually pulling this off. What had gotten into her?

"Fine, he can stay." He turned toward Tobias, "You need to come home right after you are done here, do you understand?"

"Yes sir."

Marcus stormed out of the room. Tobias didn't realize that he was holding his breath until he finally could breathe again. This was getting out of control. There's no telling what Marcus would do when he got home tonight. He needed to get out of there now. He looked over Tris. What she had done today had both hurt and helped him. She ran from him, got herself in trouble. Tobias had saved her, and now she had saved him. And at this moment, he wasn't sure whether to be mad at her for trying to stand up for him or be grateful for it. Although, if she hadn't run from him, they wouldn't have been late, and Marcus _might_ not be mad at him . _Might_ was the key word there because he probably would have been. Tobias knew that. There was no way Marcus was just going to miraculously become a good father. He didn't come here in the first place just to chat with Tobias. There had to be a reason to begin with.

"This is a mess." Tobias finally said.

"I'm sorry if I made things worse. I didn't know what to do and you..." Tris trailed off.

Tobias knew what she was going to say: _you didn't do anything_. Why was it so easy for him to protect Tris and little Jimmy from Eric, but it was so damn difficult to protect himself from his father? He knew that this wasn't Tris's fault and there was no one to blame but Marcus.

"I'm not mad at you. I just don't know what I'm going to do now." He sat down in a chair near the wall. He felt defeated.

Tris could tell he was completely lost. Her heart was breaking for him. She didn't know how to fix it either.

"You can't go home, Tobias," Tris softly said, crouching down next to him and taking his hands.

"Where am I supposed to go? He expects me home. He'll find me. So much for flying under the radar for a couple months until choosing. If I run right now, I'm factionless." He starred at the ground, hating that Tris has to see him like this. Even if he could choose, he obviously wouldn't fit in dauntless with the way he was acting. He needed to pull himself together.

"I should just go home. It'll be fine, right? I can handle whatever it is." He looked to Tris. He almost believed what he was saying.

"You shouldn't have to handle it. You can't go home today. I saw the way he looked at you. You can't be alone with him."

"It'll be worse if I don't."

"Come home with me. We can tell my father. He'll understand. He can help you. We can figure it out." Tris trusted her father. Even though he worked with Marcus and looked up to him, she had to believe that he would see the truth.

"I don't know, Tris. I don't want you to get any more involved in this. This isn't your problem." Tobias stood up and Tris stood with him, their hands still intertwined.

"Yes, it is."


	7. Chapter 7

Reluctantly Tobias had accepted Tris's offer for help. Maybe he had been silent for too long. He was so grateful to Tris for this. She had given him a way to tell someone in a position of authority that could possibly do something about his situation. He still wasn't sure which way this would go, but at least he had the hope that someone would notice and help him. He didn't know much about Tris's father. But from what little Marcus would say, he seemed to be a decent, honorable guy. But on the surface, that's exactly what Marcus was: decent and honorable, until he got home.

They finished unloading the Amity truck without saying too much. They were both nervous. Tris was nervous about getting Tobias to her father before Marcus found out what they were up to. And Tobias was nervous because he wasn't quite sure Tris's father would believe him. He hoped he would, but the past had taught him that no one really wants to get involved in these situations. The easiest thing was always to do nothing. Especially since Marcus had so much power. What proof did he have? It would be his word again Marcus'.

On their walk to Tris's house, he almost turned back three or four times. Each time he calmed himself by remembering what Tris had said. Her father might be able to fix this for him. Getting away from Marcus is what he needed. He would be able to stay in abnegation and be with Tris. This could work out just fine. Or it could all blow up in their face.

When they finally made it to Tris's house, they were surprised to find that Marcus was already there. This was the second time this had happened to them. He was there at the soup kitchen, waiting for Tobias. And now he was here waiting for them both. Did he guess what they had planned to do? Tris met Tobias's gaze and she could see the alarm and fear in his eyes. Tris feared that by offering to help Tobias, she just made the situation worse. She thought they would be in control of what happened here, the plan was for Tobias to honestly recount how his father mistreated him. Now, it was obvious that Marcus was in control of the situation.

"There are you!" Marcus stood us and they made their way to the kitchen area. "Somehow, I knew you were going to walk Tris home before you went home yourself. Funny, how it all worked out. We can both walk home together now." His forced enthusiasm was evident.

Tris was eyeing Tobias silently begging for him to say something, anything about what his father was, and he desire to get away from him. Tris noted her parents' uncomfortable presence. It was obvious that her father wasn't happy with the situation. Marcus didn't just drop by. He knew there at to be more than that. However, when Tris looked at her mother, she saw something that she didn't expect: understanding.

"I…uhh…" Tobais lamely started.

Natalie, Tris's mother interrupted, "Why don't you both stay for dinner? We have more than enough, that way you won't have to cook after such a long day." She already started pulling the extra plates they needed.

"That's very generous of you, Natalie. But Tobias and I need to get home." Marcus said sternly.

"Don't be silly, it'll only take a few minutes to eat and it's already ready." Natalie sensed the push back in Marcus, but she kept pushing. "Tris, why don't you go get your brother, and we'll all start eating."

Marcus was not happy. But by the time Tris came back with Caleb, he seemed to have softened. Natalie was doing her absolute best to steer the conversation to a joyful recount of all the great things that Marcus and Andrew got accomplished recently at work. Tris even saw Marcus smile a couple times. She would glance over to Tobias from time to time. He started the meal so stiff that she couldn't even bear to look at him. But now, he was at ease. Marcus loved hearing how amazing he was, and his mood was getting better and better. Suddenly she heard a big belly laugh and was amazed to see it came from Marcus. Tris's father seemed to have relaxed a bit as well.

"Sometimes I forget how good it is to be able to visit with people, we should do this again soon," Andrew smiled in spite of himself.

"Well, I don't want to say anything prematurely but from seeing our children together, it seems like this isn't the last time we will all be getting together." Natalie said with a gleam in her eyes.

"Mom!" Tris was embarrassed. Is it so obvious to everyone?

This seemed to make Marcus and Andrew nervous, the mood in the room faltered then. Tobias drew a deep breath. With the way things were going tonight, it seemed like things might have turn out to be all right. There would be no big reveal today. But Marcus's mood was better, and Tobias wasn't as scared to leave with him. However, now all of that was threatened. But Natalie seemed to know what she was doing.

"It's so nice to see my daughter and your son getting so close. I'm sure they confide in each other and tell each other _everything_." On the word everything, she annunciated every syllable. She smiled. "If it works out between them, I think it'll be lovely. I'm sure you know that we would do everything to protect Tobias, just like I'm sure you would do everything in your power to protect our daughter."

Everyone in the room just watched Natalie with stunned silence. She continued, "I'm sure you're also thrilled that my daughter has just given your son another reason to stay in Abnegation. Isn't his choosing next month?" She said cheerfully. She stopped and took another bite of her roll. "Oh! And I absolutely adore that they volunteer together. They should keep doing that. It fosters an Abnegation spirit." She looked over at Tobias, "Please know that you can come to me if you ever need anything. Anything, do you understand?" She was suddenly very serious. Tobias nodded. "But I don't think you'll need to, it seems that everyone in this room will have bright, untainted futures."

Natalie was threatening Marcus. She was doing it so skillfully that she didn't need to say anything outright. To everyone else, it seemed like Natalie was making pleasant but awkward conversation. But Tris, Tobias and Marcus knew differently. It seemed that Marcus understood everything that she was saying and not saying. He was caught and he knew it. Natalie silently threatened him that the next time he laid a finger on Tobias, she would know and she would side with Tobias for Tris, and his reputation would be ruined.

Andrew and Caleb were blissfully unaware of the gravity of this seemingly harmless conversation and just looked uncomfortable.

"Why don't we have some dessert?" Andrew filled the awkward silence.

"Yes, what an excellent idea. It is a special occasion, after all. A new beginning." She paused, a nice long pause. She looked at Marcus, "For Beatrice and Tobias."

That was the end of the awkwardness for the night. Through desert, Natalie steered the conversation back to the good work Andrew and Marcus were doing. By the end of the night, and uneasy Marcus was laughing again. Tobias saw the transformation and couldn't help but hoping that this could be new beginning for everyone.

Tris felt better about Tobias going home with Marcus now, and it looked like Tobias was also more at ease with the situation. When Marcus and Tobias left, Natalie sent Caleb and her husband away, telling them that they would take care of the cleanup.

"We need to talk," Tris's mother said.


	8. Chapter 8

Tris knew that her mother had guessed or had known about Marcus somehow. She couldn't figure out which. Tris hadn't thought that she betrayed anything Tobias had told her. She hadn't written it down for her mother to find in a journal or anything. She didn't even have a chance to! She had just found out herself. So how is it that her mother knew something? Tris hoped that the reason she wanted to talk with her was to explain.

They had just about cleaned up everything after dinner when Tris finally broke the silence, "How did you know? How did you know about me and Tobias? How did you know about Tobias and his father? He just told me about that today!" Tris was teetering between happiness at the outcome of tonight, and anger at her mother for keeping something from her. Her mother had also called out her relationship with Tobias when they hadn't told anyone. She had no idea her mother knew anything about that. What was going on?

"Listen, Beatrice. I know you probably have a lot of questions about what I know and how I know it." Natalie said carefully. "But I think its best not to dig up the past. We should just concentrate on the future. We should concentrate on keeping Tobias safe. It's important for you to know that I didn't know about Tobias's situation until I saw you both here today. As soon as I suspected, I did what I could, using what power I had. And I hope to God it's enough."

"But how did you know? When we came here, we didn't get the chance to even say anything. Did Marcus say something before we got here?" Tris was trying to understand, but all she could see was her mother trying to guard her secrets. It felt like she wasn't willing to tell her any more.

"No, he didn't say anything. I could tell something was going on by the way he was acting, and by the way you and Tobias were reacting when you joined us." It sounded like Natalie wanted to say more but she was censoring herself and Tris knew it.

"You knew from something that happened in the past that he was capable of this, and you didn't do anything about it until now?" Tris connected the dots as best as she could. Her mother had just saved the day and now Tris was getting angry with her. None of this make any sense. But if her mother knew about Marcus, why didn't she speak up before this?

Tris could see the hurt in her mother's eyes at her accusation. She didn't know if she was upset because Tris was accusing her unfairly or because Tris was right.

"Look, I'm sorry," Tris said. " I don't know what I'm talking about. But if you tell me, I will understand." Tris felt guilty. Her mother had really helped Tobias today and now she was angry with her for it. She desperately wanted to understand.

"I didn't think Tobias was in any danger before today. I honestly didn't. I knew Marcus a long time ago. I was best friends with his wife, Evelyn. She assured me that he never went after Tobias."

"But Tobias's mother died! Tobias thinks Marcus had something to do with it. Could you have done something to save her?" Tris's mind was reeling.

"I've said too much." Natalie quietly said. She closed her eyes. Everyone had their secrets to keep and this was hers. "Beatrice, please listen, I can't tell you everything. Maybe someday, but right now, you're going to just have to trust me."

Tris could see her mother struggle to keep whatever secret that was important to her. She knew her mother, she always looked out for other people. Tris knew that whatever she was involved in, she had good intentions. She didn't mean to harm anyone. She must have not realized she was harming Tobias by not interfering for him. She proved to Tris that she wanted to help when she championed for him tonight. But did Tris really know her mother? Before tonight, she never would have guessed that her mother would be involved in something like this, in any way.

"Okay," Tris reluctantly said. She did just save Tobias after all. "Thank you for doing what you did. I brought him here and I honestly didn't know how it would go. I couldn't let him go home to his father."

"You know, Beatrice. We are a lot more alike than you think." Natalie said, with a smile.

They were quiet for a moment. The conversation seemed to be over. But there was still something that Tris really wanted to ask her mother.

"And how did you know about me and Tobias?" she was a little embarrassed to even ask.

"Oh come on Beatrice. Your father might be blind to those things, but I'm not." Natalie smiled trying to make Tris more comfortable about the situation.

Tris returned her smile weakly and started to leave the kitchen area and head to her room. As she made it to the door of the kitchen, she stopped and turned around towards her mother.

"Mom, can I ask you one more thing?"

"Of course, what is it?"

"Can you call me Tris from now on? Instead of Beatrice."

Natalie smiled. "Of course, honey. Whatever you like."


	9. Chapter 9

The next day at school, Tobias tried to find Tris right away. When he finally found her, Tris thought something was wrong for a moment; he seemed really desperate to see her. But the first thing he did was give her a very big hug, in front of everyone. Tris smiled and knew this meant that things had gone extremely well with his father when they got home last night.

When he finally let go of her, Tobias couldn't get the questions out fast enough. "How did your mother do that? Did she say anything more to you when we left last night?"

Tris knew he would have plenty of questions after what happened last night, but how much should she actually say about what her mother did, and what she knew? She didn't want to betray her mother by not keeping her secrets, and she didn't want to betray Tobias by keeping something from him. Even though she didn't quite know everything about her mother's secrets, she knew it was something big and had to do with Tobias's family. Tris decided that she needed more time to think this over. But before she could say anything, the bell rang and they had to get to their classes.

"Can we talk later?" Tris tried to sound casual but Tobias's mood was already shifting a bit and she knew she could no longer play it off like there wasn't anything to talk about.

Tobias didn't move. "Are you ok?" He asked. Tris's heart melted at the thought that he was still so concerned for her. She was the one who should be asking him that question, not the other way around.

"I'm fine; we can meet after school, ok?"

Tobias looked like he was going to say something but a teacher interrupted them. "Let's go! You should be in class by now."

They reluctantly parted ways and walked in opposite directions. Right before she was about to enter her classroom, Tris looked back to see if she could still see Tobias. There he was, at the end of the hallway, looking at her. He wasn't angry, he was worried for her. Tris kicked herself knowing that he would worry all day until they talked. He would blow this out of proportion. She knew she had to tell him something at this point, but would the truth backfire? If he knew everything, would he assume her mother could have helped him earlier? And would he hate her for it?

Tobias was waiting for Tris outside of her last class of the day. Tris knew he would be there. They went outside and started walking toward Tris' s house.

"Well, what's wrong?" Tobias started gently. "I know you well enough to know there's something you don't want to tell me."

This was so uncomfortable for Tris. She thought about how she herself had reacted to her mother's explanations last night. Tris was angry with her mother even though she had just saved Tobias. She eventually came around and let her mother explain herself. But how would Tobias react when he finds out? Her mother hadn't told her that she couldn't tell him. She actually acknowledged yesterday that Tobias and Tris tell each other everything. She had to have known she would end up sharing this with Tobias and telling him everything. Tris still couldn't tell Tobias _everything_ even if she wanted to, because she didn't even know everything.

"Is it really that bad?" Tobias said, breaking the silence. Tris knew she was now making it worse by not saying anything.

Tris stopped walking. "Ok, I can't give you an explanation about how my mother knew because she really didn't explain it to me." She looked into Tobias's eyes, "But she did imply that she knew what went on between your mother and your father. And when she saw Marcus and us last night, she connected the dots. She swore to me that she didn't know how Marcus treated you until last night. She said your mother told her that Marcus never went after you. Apparently your mother and mine were best friends. I don't know if she tried to help her, she wouldn't tell me anymore. I really hope she did. I don't know why she kept this all a secret. I don't know." She felt like she was trying to defend her mother but still she wasn't completely sure if she should be on her side about this. Tris did know for sure that she was on Tobias's side though. She tried to read Tobias's reaction but she couldn't place it. Confusion? Heartache?

Suddenly Tobias spoke with such passion and he nearly scared Tris. "Your mom did more for me last night than anyone else has ever done. If she has secrets, that's her business. She didn't have to do what she did last night. She could have kept her secrets forever, and no one would have known. But she spoke up and helped. Whatever went on between her and my mother before, I don't care." He stopped talking for a while; he seemed deep in thought. Tris went over to him and took his hand to try to comfort him, letting him know she was there for him.

"She was right about something though. Marcus never once touched me until my mother died. It was like I replaced her. But, if you want to talk about secrets, I knew the whole time what he was doing to my mother but never said a word. I was too afraid. And now she's gone. I'm more to blame than your mother. We both knew."

"You were a child! What could you have done? This is crazy talk. It's not your fault and it's not my mother's fault. It's Marcus's fault. That's it. Simple." She pulled him into a long embrace. "It's not your fault, ok?" In response, Tobias just held her tighter.

Tris was right to dread this conversation and Tobias was right to have been nervous about it. Both of them had been through so much these last couple days. But instead of tearing them apart, it brought them closer together.


	10. Chapter 10

Things went smoothly after that. Tris saw a change in Tobias. He wasn't as worried and dark. He was starting to smile more and beginning to be lighthearted in general. Suddenly they're favorite topic was life after his choosing. He was trying to find a place where he would fit into life at Abnegation without having to see his father. He didn't want to be in the government at all, which made finding the perfect job difficult since almost all of abnegation had some sort of government job. He figured he could organize community service. They needed people for that.

Tris was a little disappointed that he would get some sort of mediocre job just to stay with her in their faction. She knew he had so much potential and he could really make a difference at whatever he did. But his father would be in his way yet again. Tris tried think about the fact that they had won, Marcus wasn't hurting Tobias anymore. Although from time to time she was still uneasy about her mother's secrets. Also she couldn't help thinking if Tobias would ever escape his father's shadow.

The time came for Tobias's aptitude test. It was a Wednesday so Tris knew that she would get to talk to him after school when they were volunteering together. She was a bit nervous about this. What if the test told him to choose another faction? They'd only known each other for a few months; would he give up who he really was for her? All this time, Tris figured his true place was with her in Abnegation. Was that her destiny too? Abnegation for life? What if, in two years, when Tris took the test, it told her a different faction? If Tobias chose Abnegation for Tris, Tris would need to choose Abnegation for Tobias. This is what she wanted for herself and Tobias. Why was she suddenly so unsure about her own future and Tobias's?

Tris took her time walking to the soup kitchen and making her way to the back. It was so lonely doing this without Tobias. A chill went through her, hoping that this would not be the first of many solo trips to the center. Tris dismissed those thoughts and started unloading the truck on her own. After what seemed like forever, she finally heard footsteps. She looked up and there was Tobias, but the look on his face was not what she wanted to see.

"It looks like now you have something that you don't want to tell me." Tris said, already jumping to the worst possible conclusion.

Tobias walked over to the truck and held out his hand for her to come down. She took it and fumbled down and then tore the hand away from him. "Tell me."

"You know I can't…" Tobias said. "But I don't want you to worry."

"How can I not worry? It's obvious that something is wrong and now you won't tell me." Tris was trying to control herself and not get upset but she knew it was losing battle.

"Please don't raise your voice. I don't want others knowing that we are arguing." Tobias calmly said.

"Since when has that mattered to you?" Tris was getting upset in earnest now.

Tobias took her into his arms and although Tris struggled at first, she finally succumbed to him. "Since now," Tobias whispered into her ear. "I'll explain everything after choosing tomorrow. You just have to wait till then. Everything will be ok. Don't worry."

For some reason, Tris wasn't quite sure that she believed him. They did tell everyone that their results should be private. No one was supposed to know except for the one taking the test, no parents, no brother or sisters and no girlfriends. He did tell her that everything was going to be ok. Tobias had never lied to her, and if he believed that it would work out, so would she. She was getting a little sick of secrets though.

They continued to unload the amity truck in silence.

"Why do I get the feeling this is the last time we are going to be doing this together?" Tris said, passive aggressively bating Tobias to try to get some more information.

"I might be busy with initiation starting tomorrow." Tobias said, nonchalantly.

"Initiation for?" Tris hoped he would tell her something, anything.

Tobis just smiled. Tris honestly couldn't tell if it was a forced smile or a genuine one. He was trying to put her at ease. But failing miserably.

Tobias walked Tris home just like he did countless times before. But this time, there was an uncomfortable silence.

Finally Tobias said, "After choosing tomorrow, I'll meet you in the alley where we first met, ok? They'll be whisking us off to initiation right after but I need you to be there." His voice might have betrayed his confidence. "Promise me you'll be there."

This was such an odd request. Red flags were going up everywhere for Tris. Could this have something to do with Tobias's father? Why wasn't Tobias talking to her? Whatever it was, it couldn't be good. And it probably had something to do with his test.

"I promise." Tris said. That seemed to soothe him a bit. They were outside Tris's house now.

"I guess this is goodbye then." Tobias looked around to make sure no one was watching them and then pulled Tris into a little alcove right by the house where they were mostly hidden from view. He looked into her eyes and put his hand on her check. Tris was expecting him to kiss her but she wasn't quite expecting the intensity of this kiss. She felt like nothing existed except them in this moment. It made her forget all the weirdness and worries. For right now, Tobias was here, and he was hers. As Tobias broke away from the passionate kiss, Tris brought her hands around Tobias's neck and held him closer. The kissed continued. They were interrupted by a noise from inside the house. They broke away from each other. Tobias took her hand, "I'll see you tomorrow," He said.

"Ok," Tris said lamely and she watched him start to leave. All of her worries came back as soon as he left.

As she walked into her house, Tris thought about that earthshattering kiss. If she didn't know better, it felt like a goodbye forever kind of kiss. But she knew better, didn't she? Tobias said they would see each other after choosing tomorrow, so that means that he has to pick Abnegation, right?

"Are you ok, Tris?" Her mother asked her.

Tris sat down at the kitchen table. "Tobias wouldn't tell me his test results today. And he didn't tell me what he'll choose tomorrow."

Her mother smiled. She came over to the table and started playing with Tris's hair. "You know that he's not supposed to. Rules are rules. Try not to worry about it."

"He was acting strange today after his test." Tris said. Natalie's face fell. "No, mom. I don't think it has to do with his father. I don't know what it could be though."

"This part of life is stressful. You're choosing where you want to be for the rest of your life. I think you're allowed to be a little strange. I'm sure its fine. You'll see, tomorrow will be just another day."

Tris's mom always knew what do say to make things better. And Tris was almost starting to feel better about things. But then she remembered how odd Tobias acted at the soup kitchen. And that kiss. In the moment, it was wonderful and romantic, but now it just felt final. She hoped her mother was right, but deep down she was dreading what tomorrow might bring.


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning, Tris could not manage anything without thinking about Tobias. The questions kept racing in her mind. _Why wouldn't he tell me his result? What is he going to choose?_ That last question was burned into her mind replaying in an infinite loop.

She was exhausted by the time she got to school. Usually only the families of the ones choosing were able to attend the choosing ceremony. But Tris already had a plan. In fact, Tobias had suggested it. The choosing ceremony was at the end of the day after school. She would hang around until just about everyone was inside the auditorium and she would stand at the back of the Abnegation section. She would blend in well enough. No one would ever know she was there. There was no way in hell that she would miss this.

It felt like the longest day of her life. She kept trying to find Tobias throughout the day and could not seem to come across him. After lunch, she had almost convinced herself that he had skipped school and wouldn't show up to the choosing ceremony at all. Of course, that was wishful thinking on Tris's part because then he couldn't choose to leave her. But then again, he wouldn't be able to choose to stay either and he would become factionless. And that was definitely not what she wanted. She was starting to believe that he was deliberately avoiding her because he didn't want to tell her that he was leaving Abnegation so he didn't have to deal with her reaction. It was the absolute worst thing she could have thought about Tobias. Had she lost all of her trust in him? She was at her locker starring into a void when she realized she had lost track of her time. If she didn't hurry, she would be late and the doors would be closed!

She walked into the auditorium just in time for the ceremonies to begin. Janine was already trying to get the crowd's attention. Tris found a perfect spot in the back. She was able to see it all and not be seen, which is exactly what she wanted. While Janine, the leader of the Erudite, droned on and on about how important this choice is, the rite of passage of their society and so on, Tris scanned the Abnegation section to find Tobias. She finally spotted him toward the front sitting next to his father. She couldn't really see his face but at least she knew he was there.

Janine started reading names, one by one. When their name was called, the student would go up on the stage. There were five fountains set up, one for each of the factions. The student would take a knife and cut their hand and place it over one of the five fountains. Once the blood hit the bottom of the symbolic bowls, the choice was made and the student was now a member of the corresponding faction.

Tris was so nervous as she waited for Tobias's turn. It felt like it took forever. Jenna Abernathy, Morris Albright, John Bolton, Ashland Byfield…. Finally she heard the name she had been waiting for:

"Tobias Eaton."

Tris stood up on her toes to get a good look. She could not keep her eyes off of him. He got on stage and picked up the knife and cut his hand. Then he hesitated. He just stood there. She had a feeling that he might be having second thoughts. The way he strutted up to that stage, it seemed like he was certain. But now he was still thinking. This was the longest a student had taken today. Usually most have already sorted all of this out after they get their result.

Suddenly he turned around to face the audience. He searched the faces. He was looking for someone. Then he spotted her. Tris held her breath as he met her eyes. It seemed like she was giving him the strength he needed to make his choice.

"Abnegation," Tris whispered, knowing that Tobias couldn't hear her. "Pick Abnegation."

Tobias seemed to have figured out whatever it was that he needed to think about, because he turned back to face the fountains. He was cradling the blood in his hand now. He walked over to his fountain and made his choice. The blood dripped from his hand and it was sealed.

"Dauntless."

Janine's voice echoed in the hall and Tris's hear t broke. For a minute she though she heard wrong, but there he was walking toward the Dauntless. He sat down with them. At some point Marcus had stood up. No doubt, completely blindsided by his choice. Marcus recovered rather quickly and sat back down. Tris didn't recover though. She wanted to scream, but she would be seen and cause a scene.

There was a voice deep within her screaming, _why_? She should have seen this coming. Something was wrong yesterday. She should have pushed harder for answers. It really was a goodbye kiss. All these thoughts were rushing through her head. She felt tears drop down her checks. She felt betrayed. _How could he?_ He didn't even say anything yesterday to make this any easier. He should have told her. He should have said something, _anything_. She was angry at him now. Why didn't they talk about it yesterday? They talk about everything! Why was this a secret all of a sudden? How could he let her find out like this?

They had fixed things with his father! Things were ok now. They weren't perfect but he wasn't hurting him anymore. Her mother had taken care of that so that he could be able to stay in Abnegation if he wanted to. Well, it all came down to that then. He didn't want to stay in Abnegation at all. How stupid could she have been? He had always wanted to leave. He was just using his father as an excuse until she took that away from him. She sobered then. What kind of lunatic things was she thinking? That he wanted to be abused so that he had an excuse to leave Abnegation. Now, that was ridiculous. There had to be another explanation. She knew Tobias, and knew he would not make a decision like this lightly.

Tris was frozen in the back of the auditorium. She didn't even realize that the ceremony was almost over until everyone was standing up. She turned around and left before anyone could realize that she wasn't supposed to be there.

She walked out of the school with her head hanging. She felt defeated. She thought about Tobias and how he was going to go straight to his new faction for initiation. She wouldn't see him again for a long time. Suddenly, she thought of something. Tobias had asked her to meet him in the ally after choosing. Her tears stopped and she broke into a run. She hoped he would be there somehow, even though the dauntless were leaving. She ran with all her might and prayed that she would get there in time.


	12. Chapter 12

She ran all the way to the alley. Out of breath, she stopped right where Tobias and Tris first met. She put her hand on her thighs and bent over, trying to catch her breath. She looked around. He wasn't there. There was no one there. She waited and waited. The longer she waited, the more she knew that he wasn't going to show up. The Dauntless had left already to start their training. She saw them leave; she knew there almost no chance of Tobias showing up there.

Tears started to stream down her face. She was also very, very angry. No goodbye, no explanation. Just gone. She sat down against one of the buildings and wallowed. She was teetering between despair and anger. At one point, she was so angry that she kicked one of the rocks near her feet. It catapulted across the alley and hit a pile of rocks. The rocks scattered and there was something white beneath them. She got up and wiped her eyes. It was a letter. Was it too much to hope for that it was a message from Tobias? An explanation? She opened the letter and read it.

_My Dear Tris,_

_I'm so sorry for everything. I didn't mean for you to find out the way you did. Please believe that there was no other way. I hope you can someday forgive me._

_What we had was amazing, I'm so glad that I met you. But you need to forget me now, just like I'm going to forget you. I'm going into Dauntless, and I won't be coming back. Please don't follow me here. Be happy for me. I'm going to be somewhere that I need to be. I always knew I belonged here. _

_The last two months were wonderful, getting to know you and being with you. But they were just two months. We can't plan our life around something that just happened between us by chance. I appreciate everything that you did for me with my father. I can't thank you enough for that. Even if at the end, it didn't end up changing my decision to leave. _

_Please don't show anyone this letter. Destroy it as soon as you read it. I felt like you needed an explanation, and I hope that you have enough of one. I'm starting my new life today and I hope you do the same. Be yourself, Tris. Don't let anyone tell you who you are. _

_Tobias_

She read the letter four times before she looked up. All she could think was: _He's breaking up with me. We're over. It's done._

She didn't understand how he could have such a radical change of heart. Yesterday, granted, things were awkward. But that kiss, that was real. She felt it. That was not "something that happened between us by chance." It was much, much more.

Something was wrong yesterday. She had a bad feeling about how Tobias was acting. Her mother had said it was just nerves and he would make the right decision in the end. Well, he might have been the right decision for himself but he made the _wrong_ decision for Tris! He left her for two whole years! And he told her not to follow him. He basically told her that it was over. And now, she would have to just accept that because there was no way to even argue with him. He had completely removed himself from her life with just a few drops of blood. All she had was a stupid letter that she couldn't even show anyone. What was she going to tell her mother? She could already see her father saying that she should never have gotten involved with Tobias Eaton.

Should she destroy it? Tobias had demanded it in his letter. Well, Tris decided that Tobias had already made too many decisions today affecting her without so much as a word beforehand. She would keep the letter whether he wanted her to or not. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of actually destroying it. It was a defiant act that made her feel more in control. But what she didn't think about was that he would never know either way.

And as for his feelings. So the two months with Tris meant nothing? Did she really believe that? She really wanted to dismiss that out of hand. She felt like she really got to know him. He wouldn't just do this. The time they spent together was "wonderful" and "amazing" and yet he didn't change his decision. Was she really a little fling that happened at an inconvenient time? There it was in the letter in black and white. Yet, somehow, she still felt some connection to him. For a break-up letter, it was really sweet. Maybe it was something else? Maybe something happened yesterday that made him think this was the only answer. But what happened? Why was he acting paranoid yesterday? And why did he decide that this was what had to happen?

She clung to the letter. It was the only thing that she had left of Tobias. She understood he would be gone for a long time. He had left her, without so much as a word. He didn't confide in her. He was gone. So many questions lingered in her mind. But one thing she knew for sure. She wasn't ready to give up on him just yet.


	13. Chapter 13

The Day Before Tobias's Choosing Ceremony

Tobias fiddled with his school papers. He was almost at the end of the road now, and he wanted all of his ducks in a row when he officially finished school. He finally got everything ready for his aptitude test tomorrow. He was actually quite nervous. But no matter what the test result was, he had already made up his mind a long time ago. He was choosing Abnegation. There was no doubt about it. Even though they haven't known each other for very long, meeting Tris was the best thing that ever happened to him. She had helped him fix his problem with his father, which really was the only reason he had wanted to leave his faction in the first place. With his father no longer hurting him, and with the chance to be with Tris, the choice was clear. A feeling of dread washed over him. In his life so far, things didn't just work out like this. He couldn't help but waiting for the other shoe to drop. Tomorrow the choice would be made and he would be free and clear. He decided to stop worrying. Nothing was going to happen to stop this.

Finally the time had come for this test. He went into a little room with a lone chair in the center and computer set up alongside of it. A Dauntless woman, who introduced herself as Tori, started explaining the test procedure to Tobias. It was everything he had expected. She finally gave him the drink to start the simulation. The aptitude test was a jumble of choices. Some of the choices were clear, some were challenging_. Raw meat or Knife? Easy: Knife. A big scary dog comes, Tobias scares him with the knife but the dog goes after a child. Tobias throws himself at the dog to protect the child. The dog disappears. Suddenly he is on a bus, a scarred man asks him if he knows the man on the front page of the paper responsible for his injuries. Tobias thinks he does but can't remember. He feels like something bad will happen if he admits to it. He denies knowing the man. _

Suddenly he wakes up and the test is over. He had made it through. But something is wrong. Instead of Tori telling him his results, she is at the computer typing away. She looked concerned and nervous. At first, Tobias waited because maybe it was some sort of expected glitch. The longer he waited, the more he realized it must be something more.

"Is everything ok?" He cautiously started.

Tori turned toward Tobias, she finally finished what she had been doing on the computer. She took a deep breath.

"Your recorded result is Abnegation." For some reason she didn't seem sure.

Tobias couldn't say he was particularly surprised by the result. He had expected it, but he could see that there was something else going on. She didn't want to meet his eyes.

"Ok, but what happened on the computer?" He pried.

"Look, I can't tell you much right now," She looked as if she was arguing with herself. He could sense that she had so much more to say but she was stopping herself.

Tobias started shifting in his seat. What was going on here? This was supposed to be simple part. His test result was supposed to scientifically tell him where he was suited, the choosing part was supposed to be tough.

"What _can_ you tell me?" he was also concerned now and he was trying very hard not to be scared.

"I wasn't lying before, your result is Abnegation…," she said carefully, "… and Dauntless."

Tobias stood up. That couldn't happen. The test was supposed to tell you which result. There was never more than one.

"But how is that possible?" Tobias was suddenly scared. He knew this wasn't normal. He had been waiting for something like this to happen to ruin his plans. Things had been going too well. Nothing was ever easy for him.

"It's called Divergent. You were lucky to get me as your test administrator." Tori said. She seemed really nervous now. "Listen, you can't trust anyone, and if this gets out everyone close to you is in danger. They just don't go after you, they go after everyone you love. Divergence is the enemy to them, and they see anyone sympathizing with Divergents as targets as well. They don't want it to spread. They will kill you. You need to separate yourself from anyone who you can put in danger. I would just choose a different faction and keep to yourself."

"Why are you telling me this? Why are you helping me?" Tobias couldn't understand. If divergence was so dangerous, why would someone risk their own life to help a stranger?

"Because I'm Divergent too. And I wish someone had told me. Because I didn't cut ties with my family, and my brother died for it. This is serious; don't think it's not.

"What is Divergent?" Tobias couldn't believe this. This was the worst thing that could happen to him right now.

"Look, I don't have time for a lecture on it, but it's when they can't categorize you in a faction and you belong in more than one. You're dangerous because they can't control you."

"Who are "they"? How does someone become divergent?" Tobias's head was reeling. He had so many questions.

"I can't say anymore. I've told you enough to make your choice. Don't just think of yourself. Be smarter than me. Protect them." The pain in Tori's voice was evident. She had suffered a great deal. She was giving him a gift, a warning.

And with that she ushered him out the door of the examination room. But now instead of the answer he thought he would have from his test result, all he had were questions. And he had no time. He had to make a decision by tomorrow and he didn't even know where to turn to find the answers he needed. There literally was no one to talk to about this. He didn't know who he could trust. He knew, of course, that he could trust Tris, but he needed to protect her.

Tris.

She can't know about this. She needs to be safe and Tobias had to make sure of that. That means that it had to be over between them and she can't know why. He was going to have to break her heart to save her life. This was going to be the hardest thing he ever had to do. He couldn't take the chance that Tori was wrong. He saw the pain and fear in Tori's eyes. She was definitely not lying to him, as much as Tobias wished she was.

Two months ago, he had been ready to walk out of Abnegation and never look back. Things were so different now. He wanted to stay more than anything. But if he was as dangerous as Tori said, he couldn't do that to Tris. He loved her too much to put her in danger. He would somehow have to say goodbye.


	14. Chapter 14

The Day of Tobias's Choosing Ceremony

Tobias always thought that on the day of his choosing ceremony, he would finally feel like an adult. He would be welcomed into society as a full-fledged member and be absolutely sure where he belonged. None of that was true today though; he was scared and felt like an inexperienced kid. He needed the nerve to get through this day. And if he did chose Dauntless, like he was planning to, he needed to start being brave, or at least acting brave. He had been through a lot, much more than any kid his age had gone through so he knew that he could get through this. He just didn't _want_ to get through it, because he knew he was going to hurt Tris in the process. He was going to hurt her so badly that she would probably hate him forever.

The aptitude test had certainly thrown a curveball into his life. He was Abnegation _and_ Dauntless. So he was some sort of dangerous societal defect now, threatening everyone close to him. He had seen Tris right after the test. He tried to act normal. However, Tris could sense something was wrong. She tried to argue with him, but all he could think of was if someone might hear them. He could already be putting her in danger. How secure were those testing rooms? Did anyone else know about his divergence? He should already be trying to limit people seeing them together. He wanted to shield her from whatever danger he could put her in.

Tobias told Tris that he would see her after the ceremony to put her mind at ease. He had no intention of meeting her there. What he intended to do was give her some sort of explanation. If he told her what his decision was before the ceremony, she would try to talk him out of it. He knew that. And what scared him the most was: she might have been able to talk him into staying. Tobias reaffirmed his decision; he wasn't going to let her try; she couldn't know about his choice until it was too late to do anything about it. Instead of meeting her in the alley, he would leave her a letter, an explanation, his final goodbye.

Knowing that it was the last time they would talk to each other was tough on Tobias. He had to pretend things were still ok but he was dying inside. Tris had no idea that their goodbye kiss that day would be the last kiss they'd ever share, but Tobias knew. Tobias got lost in that kiss. At least he had that sweet memory to keep him going after he leaves Abnegation. He was grateful that he had met Tris. He would always have his memories of her and the time he spent with her. No one would ever take that away. And he would be content in the knowledge that she was safe, that he couldn't put her in danger anymore.

The ceremony itself was torture. He could tell his father was certain he would stay in abnegation. Marcus was not worried at all and he never asked Tobias about his choice. Marcus was banking on Tobias staying for Tris. Little did he know that the opposite was about to happen, Tobias was going to leave Abnegation for Tris, to protect her.

Finally they called his name and his resolve vanished. He got on stage and cut his hand like he was supposed to. This just seemed so final. He was never going to be able to come back to Abnegation. He wasn't going to see Tris again, and she was going to hate him for it. He was basically stomping on what they had together. Later that day, when Tris read his note, she'd be shattered. And he would be gone. It was then that he decided, _no,_ he wasn't going to do this. He was going to live his life the way he wanted to. He wasn't going to let some sort of "Divergence" get in the way of his happiness. Tobias was hesitating too long. People wear starting to whisper. He just couldn't get himself to erase his life and start again in a new faction. He turned around and faced the audience. He had to see her. Life would make sense again if he could just see her face.

Then Tobias spotted her. Then he knew. He loved her and he wasn't going to take a chance to put her in any danger. He wasn't going to be selfish and stay. She gave him the courage he needed to seal his fate. He wished that he could tell her the truth. He wanted her to know that he loved her so much, that he was choosing another faction for her. But he knew that she couldn't know. She would believe the letter and forget him.

Tobias wasn't sure what his future would bring now. He didn't know how being Divergent would change his life. But he knew that he would handle anything that came. He belonged with his new faction. Even the test had told him that he was also dauntless. Tobias started feeling brave. He knew he had made the right choice. What he had just done took a lot of courage. He finally saw himself as worthy for his new position in life. He walked off the stage and took his rightful place with the Dauntless.


	15. Chapter 15

Weeks had passed since Tobias made his choice. Tris had slowly gotten used to the idea of him being missing in her life. She no longer cried at night. She tried not to be overly distraught in front of her parents. She was right about what her father would think about the whole situation, he dismissed Tobias as a fling, which she was absolutely too young for anyway.

"I never trusted that boy and I seem to remember him getting you into some trouble." He had said.

Andrew Prior would never understand about Tobias. He had never gotten Tris in trouble, he had helped a young boy and Tris had gotten involved on her own! Although, it seemed easier for Tris to let her father think what he thought, and stop defending Tobias. It's not like he needed defending now anyway.

Natalie seemed to think it was all her fault. Tris' mother thought that even though she told Tobias to come to her if his father ever hurt him again; he hadn't come to her when he should have. In Natalie's mind, he might have been too proud to ask for her help and figured that changing factions was the only answer open to him. Natalie felt bad for Tris because she felt responsible for Tobias's choice. But she could see that Tris was as well as could be expected with the transition and all Natalie could do was be there for her, even though she never really wanted to talk about it. Tobias was gone, they did everything they could to help him. At least he would be safe from his father in Dauntless.

Marcus threw himself into his work and seemed to be blaming himself for Tobias's choice. As far as Tris was concerned, it was too little and too late. She would be happy if she never had to interact with Tobias's father again. Although Tris knew, based on Tobias's letter, that his choice didn't have anything to do with his father, she decided that Marcus never needed to know that. In Tris's view, with everything Marcus ever did to Tobias, he deserved to suffer now.

In a way, she was happy for Tobias. He had talked about Dauntless a lot during their time together. If he stayed in Abnegation, he would be stuck in the shadow of his father. At least now he would be able to make his own life there, even though Tris wouldn't be a part of it. Maybe he was right, they didn't know each other long enough and maybe they were too young.

She still thought about the day before Tobias's Choosing Ceremony and how strange Tobias had acted. She never was able to figure out why. His letter was very cryptic but, in the million times she had read it, she could not find a single clue as to why he did what he did, the way that he did it. Tris thought he probably felt he had to choose Dauntless, and he couldn't talk to her about it because she would probably be able to talk him out of it. She smiled at that, she knew that Tobias had felt something for her. Their goodbye kiss still burned in her mind. There was definitely something there, even though they only had it for a short time.

Maybe it was Tobias's test result that prompted his choice? He might have gotten a Dauntless result and felt that he needed to make the right choice for himself. Why didn't he tell her though? She would have supported him! Maybe he thought she would take the fact that he didn't choose to stay with her as rejection. But she was not some wilting flower, she would have been able to take it and she would have been happy for him in the end. Right? Tris thought about that for a long time. She finally came to the conclusion that although she would have probably been upset at the beginning, she would have come to terms with it if he had told her that's what he really wanted. He has to be his own person. That's what she loved about him. Who knows what might happen in the future for her? She might get Dauntless as a result as well when she took her test. Sometimes, she didn't truly feel like she belonged in Abnegation.

_Please don't follow me here._

Why wouldn't Tobias want her to follow him if that was truly where she might belong? That part of the letter still puzzled her. Maybe he didn't want her to make that choice because of him.

_Be yourself, Tris. Don't let anyone tell you who you are._

Then there was this part of the letter that basically said to forget what everyone else thinks she should do, and do what she wants to do. He was contradicting himself in a way. If she thought rightful place was in Dauntless, no one, _not even Tobias_, could tell her that it wasn't.


	16. Chapter 16

It took a long time for Tris to get over Tobias Eaton. For the first six months, she was almost convinced that he would reach out in some way. She continued volunteering at the soup kitchen long after her requirement was met. She always hoped there would be a note somewhere in their usual places. She checked that alleyway almost everyday after school on her way home. But nothing ever came, no contact; he was gone. She finally stopped waiting. If Tobias were going to get in touch with her, he would have done that by now.

It took another six months for her not to feel sad every time she thought of him. In the beginning she tried to rationalize his decision. There had to be something behind it, some huge mysterious conspiracy that kept them apart. But she knew it probably wasn't the case. And that betrayal hurt the most.

Now, when she looked back on her time with Tobias, she concentrated on the fond memories, his smile, and her nickname that stuck with her after all this time, their last kiss. That sting that she felt every time she thought of how he left her finally started to lessen. She couldn't change what had happened, she couldn't affect his choices and she learned to accept that. He had left an imprint in her life. Her experiences with him made her stronger and a little braver.

But maybe she was giving him too much credit. Maybe the time had morphed him into something wonderful that he never was. There was no reason to keep thinking and dreaming about Tobias. It was over. He had left her a long time ago to start another life and now it was her turn.

Over the last few months, Tris's thoughts had turned to her own aptitude test and her own choosing. At least she won't have to go through this totally alone. Her brother Caleb was born the same year even though he was almost a year older. He was a natural Abnegation so there was no doubt in her mind that this choice would be relatively easy for him. However, Tris was actually dreading the whole experience. She felt that she had an obligation to choose Abnegation for her family, to keep her life the same. How could she face her mother after she chooses something else?

But what other faction would she choose? That answer was as obvious to her as anything but she didn't want to think about that. There was a part of her that was scared to go into Dauntless to face Tobias. And if she was scared of that, she wasn't brave enough for Dauntless. Then there was that letter that she agonized over for more than a year, "Don't follow me there…"

As time passed Tris was able to finally get over what they had. It had taken her a while but she had done it. And what's more, she was able to think about her faction choices without factoring him in. She was becoming her own person and she savored it.

One day after school, Tris was walking home as always. She hardly ever went by the soup kitchen anymore, her quota for the year had already been reached. She was thinking about her aptitude test; she couldn't believe it was just a couple days away. Caleb didn't seem nervous but she was still undecided about her choice. She figured the test might help her with that, push her in the right direction. All of a sudden, Tris heard a scream. At first she couldn't tell where the sound was coming from but then she saw them.

Some kids were hanging around the train tracks, which were about 20 feet above the ground. It looked like one kid had lost his footing and fell over the edge. He was dangling by his hands. Tris expected the other kids to start helping him up but they starting laughing at him and one kid even tried to kick his hands.

"Hey!" Tris's voice echoed. The dauntless boys looked up to see Tris running toward them. When she got to the train tracks, she climbed up.

"You can't stop us. We're not leaving," one of the boy's yelled, it seemed like he was the leader of the other two. They were younger then Tris by a couple of years.

Tris got to the top; the poor boys hands were slipping. "Really? I can't? Watch me." She ignored the boys and tried to grab the boy's hand. As she got closer, she realized she knew the boy, "Jimmy?"

The dauntless boy stepped in front of Tris, "What do you think you're doing?"

Tris stood up. "And what is it that you're doing? Preying on a defenseless boy is somehow making you tougher? You know that he can be seriously hurt and you'll be to blame, let me help him. What is it with you guys? You're supposed to protect people, not pick on them."

Jimmy started to slip and called out. Tris crouched down and grabbed his hand. "Either help me or get out of here." They actually seemed to be contemplating what she said. One of the dauntless boys came over and grabbed Jimmy's other hand. Together, they pulled him up.

The leader of the dauntless boys snickered and sauntered off, another boy followed him. The one that helped Tris stayed seeming not to care about the others.

"I'm sorry. Don't worry. They won't bother you again." He looked at Tris. "Please don't tell anyone. We're going to leave him alone."

"You better." Tris said tightly. Then she put her arm around Jimmy and led him away leaving the boy to watch them go.

Once they were a far enough distance away Tris chuckled and said, "You know, Jimmy, maybe you should steer clear of Dauntless from now on, ok?"

"Absolutely," Jimmy said, "And thanks, this is the second time you saved me."

"I didn't save you that first time." Tris said quietly. "Don't worry about it. I'm glad I was there."

Jimmy went off toward his house and left Tris alone with her thoughts. _What did she just do?_ Whatever it was, it felt right; it felt good. She thought back to her first encounter with Jimmy. She had promised her father not to get involved again, to go for help instead of diving into a situation. Well, she hadn't done that. She stepped up and made a difference. She was brave.

As Tris fell asleep that night, she felt certain that she knew where she belonged. What happened today had shown her that she didn't need Tobias to be brave. She could do it all on her own and she would. She was sure that come aptitude test day, her result would be dauntless.


	17. Chapter 17

Tris wasn't nervous at all when she walked into school the day of her aptitude test. At least, she tried to pretend she wasn't. She was almost positive that her result would be dauntless today. However, she still had doubts about actually picking dauntless on choosing day because she still felt an obligation to her family. And of course, there's the small part of her that might not be able to handle seeing Tobias Eaton again. But the more she thought about her family, the more she realized that Caleb would most definitely choose Abnegation. He was as Abnegation as they come! At least her parents would still have one child if she chooses to leave. And as for seeing Tobias again, he didn't matter anymore.. or so she told herself again and again.

The test itself wasn't particularly difficult. It was just weird. This was her first experience with the simulation serum and it was really disorienting at first. Then it just seemed very real. Like she couldn't remember how she got to room full of mirrors, but she was there. The dog she saw looked so real. Vaguely she remembered that she was doing some sort of test. And before she knew it, it was over and she was waking up.

She looked over at her test administrator; she was really quiet. She didn't notice before, but she was covered with tattoos. Must be dauntless. She muttered something under her breath that sounded like "Why is this happening more often now?"

"Is something wrong?" Tris asked.

Tori turned around and starred at her. "Yeah. I just don't even know what to say anymore."

Tris was getting nervous now. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Your recorded result is Abnegation." She said dismissively.

Tris was shocked and sensed Tori's hesitation. "I don't think that's right. I thought for sure that I would come up as Dauntless." Tris was disappointed. Maybe she just wasn't brave enough or tough enough for Dauntless.

Tori seemed to change her mind about something. "Ok, fine. You gotta listen. You're results are Abnegation, Dauntless and Erudite. It means you're something called Divergent. And you're dangerous to yourself and your family. My advice would be to go into a different faction from them to protect them from yourself." It seemed like Tori's speech was well rehearsed. Tris felt has though this same situation had happened to Tori multiple times.

"What? I thought everyone only has one result. What's wrong with me?" Tris was getting uncomfortable with this whole situation. Could she trust Tori?

Tori seemed annoyed. "It happens more than you think. You can't conform the way they want you to and that makes you dangerous. If they find out they won't just target you, they'll target people you're close to."

"The people I'm close to…" Something inside Tris clicked. Tobias?! He probably got the same results when he took his test and that's why he left. To protect her… She felt a wave of understanding and then anger. He should have told her!

"Listen, you gotta get out of here. You've been in here too long. If you don't leave now, they will know something's up. Just remember what I said." She ushered Tris out of the testing room.

What was she going to do now? Tris felt sick. She was different, damaged…. Something called divergent. How much danger could there be for her? Tori made it seem like her choice of faction was a life and death decision now. So, staying in Abnegation was completely out of the question. She had to sever ties with her family to protect them from whatever this was. And she wouldn't be caught dead at Erudite. So that left her choice. The only choice she ever wanted to make. The only choice she had now: Dauntless. She would have to face Tobias. But she was hopeful; maybe they could figure out this divergent thing together.

When she came home, she wasn't as sure as she had been right after leaving Tori. It all had changed when she saw her parents. They were so happy and cheerful. When they all had dinner together that night, no one brought up the choosing ceremony which was going to be held the next day. They had no idea that Tris was going to betray them. It almost made her change her mind. It wasn't until she remembered that Caleb was the Abnegation poster boy, so she was fine. They would all be fine and her parents would still have Caleb. And more importantly they would be safe without her.

The next day, she was resigned to her choices. She felt like Dauntless was where she was supposed to be anyway and this was the final push for her. She felt at peace with leaving her family. They would understand. Her mom would think that she was just following Tobias. But this was so much more than that. She was a little nervous about seeing Tobias. Maybe she was wrong about why he left. It made so much sense; the way it all happened when he left. But she wouldn't know for sure until she talked with him. Maybe she wouldn't even see him for a while. She would have time to figure out how to breach the subject with him if he would even talk to her. She thought about his note "_Don't follow me there_." Well, she wasn't left with another choice now.

At the ceremony, Tris thought everything was going way too fast. Her parents were sitting in between her and her brother. Suddenly it was her brother's turn and she was next. Caleb made his way up to the stage. Tris was fiddling with her shirt. She was really nervous now. This was it, the biggest decision of her life. Was she making the right one? She was barely even paying attention to what was happening on stage until she saw her mother flinch. Caleb had just chosen _Erudite._ What?!

This can't be happening. This was not the way this was supposed to go. Her parents were going to lose them both today. What was Caleb thinking?!

"Beatrice Prior." Janine called her name.

No! Tris thought. She needed more time. How could she betray her parents like this now? She needed to stall; she had to think. She didn't move.

"Beatrice Prior." Janine said again.

Tris stood up. She was drawing attention to herself now, which was not good. She walked up towards the stage. She still didn't know what she was going to do. She cut her hand and starred at the four bowls. This would have been so easy if Caleb had just chosen Abnegation. She looked at the audience and saw her mom and dad watching her. She was dangerous now; she had to leave them. They needed to be safe from whatever threat there was. She only had the warning words of her test administrator to go off of. But they were enough. She trusted her. There was something about Tori's tone that made it seem that she had personal experience with the danger. Tris looked down at her hand and put it over her choice.

"Dauntless." Janine's voice echoed through the room.

Tris looked up at her parents. They were heartbroken, just as she thought they would be. She kept telling herself that this was best for everyone. But she didn't know if she believed that anymore. What if Tori were some crock that got off scaring people with pretend "dangers" to mess with their lives?

That was ridiculous. And as she took her place seated with the dauntless, Tris got excited; she suddenly felt like she belonged with them. Her life was leading her to this moment. Even though everything seemed wrong a moment ago, everything was right.

After the ceremony, Tris left with the Dauntless. She didn't look back. She was ready to start her new life. The Dauntless initiates started running toward the train to get to the Dauntless compound. She ran with them. Tris felt free. She was running toward her new life, toward Dauntless and toward Tobias.


	18. Chapter 18

Nothing could have prepared Tris for her first hours as a Dauntless initiate. The ride to the compound went well. The part where she had to jump off a moving train didn't go so well. She waited until all the others had gotten off the train and then, when she had no other choice, jumped as well.

She landed hard but she was grateful she was mostly in one piece. She had scraped her elbow and ripped her dress but no permanent damage.

Then she saw someone that she hadn't seen for a long time. But it wasn't Tobias, it was Eric. He was waiting for them on the edge of the building. Since she was the last one to jump off the train, she was the last one to join the group.

Eric was saying something about welcoming them to dauntless but first they had to complete the initiation and it was important to do well since they would be cutting people. This took Tris aback because she had thought that you just pick the faction, but apparently the faction had to pick you too. She started to feel nervous, especially because she was the last one to jump from the train and Eric saw that. Also, her past with him probably didn't give her any bonus points_._

Now he was asking for volunteers to jump off the building. What? Did she hear him right? No one moved; no one said anything. Tris decided that this would be a good time to start being brave. She needed to make sure that she could make it through orientation and not get cut. She didn't want to end up factionless. If he was asking them to do this, it couldn't be super dangerous, could it? Then again, this was Eric that was asking.

Tris stepped in front. "I'll do it." She said in a small voice.

"Well, if it isn't the Stiff. This should be good. Go ahead." Eric was taunting her. She knew that he remembered her. He wanted her to fail, to change her mind and run to the back of the line.

Tris stood up on the edge and took a breath.

"We don't have all day, Stiff."

She tried to look down but all she could see was black. It was now or never. So she jumped.

She felt exhilarated, like jumping into ice-cold water. Her fear melted away and before she knew it, a net caught her. And then she saw a hand being held out for her. She took the hand and stood up, and then she saw that the hand belonged to none other than Tobias Eaton.

For a minute, she was in shock. She didn't think she would see him this soon. She was definitely not prepared for this. There was a glimmer of recognition in his eyes but then it went away.

"Name?" He barked.

Tris was disoriented. What was he asking her? "What?"

"What is your name?" he said impatiently.

"It's Tris." She said like it was obvious. She thought she saw a little smile start on his face. But as soon as she saw it, it vanished.

"First Jumper: Tris." He bellowed and a few people surrounding them started cheering and then she was led away from Tobias to wait for the others. She looked back at him but he was already focused on the next jumper. It took a while but every single one of the initiates jumped. Some of them weren't as graceful or as silent as Tris but they all made it.

It became apparent that Eric and Tobias were in charge of initiation. Tris had to wonder how a team like that was born. It didn't seem like they liked each other at all, much less could work together. But here it was, Eric was explaining the initiation process, starting with physical combat training then going to fear simulation training and then finally a simulation test.

_Great, more simulations_, Tris thought. She wasn't looking forward to that. Not that she couldn't do them, they just that they made her feel uncomfortable. But they didn't make her as uncomfortable as it felt to be in the room with Tobias right now, acting the way he was acting. So, he just wanted to pretend they didn't know each other? Did she surprise him by showing up today? She didn't know what she was expecting when she saw him for the first time after so long, but it definitely wasn't this.


End file.
